Description of Historic Place

The Alexander Smith Farm Complex is located at 14650 Heart Lake Road, on the west side of Heart Lake Road, north of King Street, in the Town of Caledon. The property consists of a one-and-a-half storey, red brick farmhouse constructed in the 1870s and five outbuildings, .

The property was designated, by the Town of Caledon in 2003, for its heritage value, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, By-law 2003-115.

Heritage Value

The Alexander Smith Farm Complex is associated with the Smith family, early settlers from Scotland. The Smiths became prominent members of the community, establishing large landholdings in the area and serving as founding members of the local Presbyterian Church. Andrew Smith bought the 100 acre property in 1855, selling it to his eldest son, Alexander, in 1864. Alexander and his wife, Euphemia Graham, who were already living in a log house on the property at that time, subsequently constructed the existing farmhouse. The property remained in the Smith family for 110 years.

The Alexander Smith farmhouse is a good representation of the vernacular style known as 'Ontario Gothic'. Typical of this style is the L-shaped floor plan, polychromatic brick patterning, buff brick quoins and voussoirs. The residence also has coursed polychromatic end chimneys, a projecting bay window and lancet and paired gable windows. A porch with decorative bargeboards wraps around the northeast corner of the house. Attached to the northwest corner of the house is a brick summer kitchen and a brick carriage house with the original farm bell on its roof.

Located across the farm lane, north of the farmhouse, are five outbuildings, representative of the construction methods and architectural design for farm buildings, in the area. The outbuildings consist of a chicken house, implement shed, and three timber frame barns set in a U-shape, all with medium pitched gable roofs and board and batten cladding.

The Alexander Smith Farm Complex provides an important reminder of the development of the area in the mid-to-late 19th century. Set close to the road, the complex consists of a cluster of farm buildings around the original farm lane running perpendicular to Heart Lake Road. The farm complex is surrounded by a mix of open fields, natural growth cedar and areas of reforestation. A cedar rail fence lines the property.

Source: Town of Caledon By-law 2003-115.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Alexander Smith Farm Complex include its:
- situation close to Heart Lake Road
- relationship between the farmhouse and outbuildings
- reforested property with natural growth cedar and wooden fence
- farmhouse with its:
- one-and-a-half-storey red-brick construction
- medium pitched cross gable roof
- L-shaped floor plan
- wrap around porch with decorative bargeboards
- polychromatic brick patterning
- buff brick quoins and radiating voussoirs
- round headed two-over-two pane sash windows
- stone lugsills and radiating voussoirs
- fieldstone foundation
- summer kitchen
- carriage house with bell
- two brick chimneys
- outbuildings with their single-storey heavy timber construction, medium pitched gable roofs and board and batten cladding
- U-shaped cluster of barns